LOOKING AHEAD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21551, 2 November 1944, Page 6

LOOKING AHEAD

PACIFIC DOMINIONS NEED FOR MIGRANTS THE SECURITY PROBLEM (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Nov. 2. The need for larger populations in Australia and New Zealand was emphasised by the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. F. M. Forde, in reply to the welcome accorded him at the State luncheon yesterday in his honour and that of his colleague. Dr. I-I. V. Evatt.

Mr. Forde said that after travelling through the North Island of this Dominion he was satisfied that New Zealand was destined to carry 5,000,000 and in time 10,000,000 people. His own country, he believed, was destined to have a population of 30,000.000 people. Mr. Forde said that, while there were preconceived ideas in the past about migration, he believed thac in the immediate post-war years Australia and New Zealand would find it absolutely necessary to adopt a comprehensive scheme of migration to encourage migration from the Mother Country, if migrants could be obtained from there. “ However, they would not be able to get all the people they wanted from the United Kingdom and they would have to get them from Europe. Orphan children might be encouraged to come out from Britain.

Mr. Forde said it was not generally realised how Australia and New Zealand were nearly overrun by the ruthless enemy and that both _ countries had been on the verge of disaster. "If we don't learn the lesson of the past we might not get another opportunity,” said Mr. Forde. We should learn the lesson to be learned from our experience of the past three years.” The gigantic task that lay ahead of the two countries should not he underestimated, added Mr. Forde. He believed that because of the formidable armies closing in on her Germany must be overthrown in the next two or three months, but a stupendous task faced them in the Pacific. There were 100.000,000 people in Japan, 10.000,000 Japanese were serving in the field and there were 200,000,000 people in the countries under Japanese domination. They could not allow any of the Japanese to have territories immediately to the north of Australia from which they could strike a blow, say in ten years’ time, and Australia was determined to carry out an all-in war effort till victory was achieved.